hierarchical

American  

[hahy-uh-rahr-ki-kuhl, hahy-rahr-] / ˌhaɪ əˈrɑr kɪ kəl, haɪˈrɑr- /

Also hierarchic

adjective

1. of, belonging to, or characteristic of a hierarchy.

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Other Word Forms

• antihierarchic adjective
• antihierarchical adjective
• antihierarchically adverb
• hierarchically adverb
• nonhierarchic adjective
• nonhierarchical adjective
• nonhierarchically adverb

Etymology

Origin of hierarchical

1425–75; late Middle English. See hierarch, -ical

Example Sentences

Yet it was precisely this world—hierarchical, steeped in pageantry, encouraging of free inquiry and progress—that produced the Industrial Revolution and the republican structure of government that took root in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal

It proposes to address hierarchical orders, social rank, slavery, colonialism, expropriation and the interweaving of mind and body, matter and spirit.

From The Wall Street Journal

This is how leadership always works in practice, even in organizations less hierarchical than the military.

From The Wall Street Journal

For many years, scholars believed that constructing Poverty Point required a strictly organized, hierarchical society working across generations.

From Science Daily

As is the case in all hierarchical organizations, the problem starts at the top.

From Los Angeles Times